Air cleaner



Jan. 12,1932. M i 1,840,831

AIR CLEANER Filed Aug. 5, 1927 Patented Jan. 12, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT CHAMPION, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO A C SPARK PLUG COMPANY, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN, A COMPANY OF MICHIGAN Am CLEANER Application filed August5, 1927. Serial No. 210,819.

This invention relates to air cleaners and particularly to those adapted to be used on. the air intake conduit of the carburetor of an internal combustion engine to remove foreign matter from the air to'be' supplied to the carburetor and engine cylinders.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved air cleaner.

When an air cleaner is secured to the air intake conduit of the carburetor of an internal combustion engine, it is generally in such a position that the current of air caused by the engine cooling fan impinges against it. Since the amount of dirt and size of dirt particles which can be carried by a current of air increase with the velocity, the current of air set up by the engine cooling fan will carry more and larger dirt particles to the cleaner than an equal amount of air which is brought to the cleaner merely by the suction of the engine. If the intake orifice of the .cleaner is in such a position that the current of air set up by the engine cooling fan can enter-it directly, the air which enters the cleaner will carry an excess of dirt. If, however, the intake orifice of the cleaner is turned away from the current of air so that the air has to turn a corner to get into the cleaner, part of the dirt will be lost due to the loss of velocity in turning the corner and due to the greater inertia of the dirt particles which tend to keep on in a straight line. The position of the air intake orifice in an ordinary air cleaner is determined by the position of the air intake conduit of the carburetor, and so it is generally impossible to change the position of the air intake orifice of the air cleaner without changing the position of the air intake conduit of the carburetor. In any event it is impossible to change the direction of the air intake orifice of an ordinary air cleaner without mounting it in a different position and in many cases this change in position of mounting cannot be accomplished without considerable difliculty. It is desirable, therefore, to have an air cleaner which can be mounted in any position and still have its intake orifice in such a position that the current of air from the engine cooling fan cannot enter it directly. I

It is obvious that it will be desirable in many other instances to have an air cleaner which can be mounted in any horizontal, vertical or inclined position and still have its air intake orifice shielded from direct entry of an outside current of air.

It is an object of this invention to provide an air cleaner which can be mounted in any horizontal, vertical or inclined position and still have its air intake orifice shielded from direct entry of an outside current of air.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of an air cleaner, with parts broken away and in section, and showing the connection of the cleaner to the air intake conduit of a carburetor.

Figure2 is a section-on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

In the drawings, the reference character 5 indicates a carburetor and 6 a conduit leading from the air cleaner 7 to the carburetor.

The main body of the cleaner is frustoconical in shape and is provided at its smaller end with an integrally formed closure 9 having an opening 9 therein to receive the end of the conduit 6. Extending around the greater part of the circumference of the opening 9 and integral with the closure 9 is a collar 10.

For a portion of its circumference, the collar is separated from the closure 9, as indicated at 11. Intermediate the ends of this separated portion, the collar is split and the free ends of the tongues thus formed bend outwardly to provide the lugs 12. A bolt 13 is inserted through perforations in the lugs 12 and a nut 13 screwed on the threaded end of the bolt. It is clearly seen that by screw ing the nut up on the bolt the collar will be drawn tightly around the conduit and securely clamp the air cleaner to the conduit.

The reference character 18 indicates a plate having inwardly directed struck-out 17 between which and the crimped portion 17', the vane plate and the flange 16 of the.

shroud are secured, as shown in Figure 1.

The shroud is provided with openings 19 in one side only for admission of air to the cleaner, and the body 8 is provided near its smaller end with a tangential opening 20 for discharge of the dust removed from the air. The distance from one end of one opening 19 to the far end of the most distant opening 19 measured around the circumference should be no more than half of the circumference of the shroud.

In the operation of the cleaner, the air which is sucked into the carburetor passes first through the openings 19 in the shroud, and then through the openings 18?) in the vane plate and impinges against the vanes 18a, which give it a rotary motion. This causes the foreign matter in the air to be thrown outwardly against the wall of the body 8 and finally to pass out of the cleaner through the tangential opening 20. The clean air continues through the opening 9' into the 'conduit 6 and whence it passes into the carburetor and engine cylinders.

By means of the shroud 14, air is prevented from entering directly into the end of the body 8 and must enter through the openings 19. It is obvious that regardless of whether the cleaner is used in a vertical, horizontal or inclined position that, after the nut 13 is loosened, the openings in the shroud can always be rotated to such a position that any given current of air, such as that caused by an engine cooling fan, cannot enter directly into them. For this reason, the air entering the cleaner will carry less dirt than if the current of air from the fan blew directly into the intake orifice. It is obvious that the cleaner can, if desired, be constructed so that the shroud can be rotated without rotating the whole cleaner by making the joint between it and the main body portion loose enough to allow independent rotation of the shroud.

9 Though I have shown and described my air cleaner as used for cleaning the air-to be supplied to the carburetor and cylinders of an internal combustion engine, it is to be understood that it may be used in other relations.

I have provided an eflicient air cleaner, the air inlet orifice of which may be positioned so that direct entry of any outside current of air is prevented regardless of whether the cleaner is mounted horizontally, vertically or inclined.

I claim:

1. In combination, an air inlet conduit, and an air cleaner adapted to be rotated with respect to the conduit and adapted to discharge air into the conduit, the air cleaner having an air inlet orifice in such a position that it can be positioned so that it is shielded from direct entry of any outside air current by rotating the cleaner with respect to the conduit.

2. In combination, an air cleaner, and means on which the air cleaner is mounted and with respect to which it is adapted to be rotated, the air cleaner having an air inlet orifice in a side wall thereof which is substantially parallel to the axis of rotation and which is continuously unbroken for substantially one-half the circumference thereof.

3. In an air cleaner, a main body portion having an air discharge orifice at one end and a shroud having a side wall and an end wall, the side wall having an opening therein, and being continuously unbroken for one-half of the circumference of the shroud.

4. In an air cleaner, a shroud having a circumferential flange, a vane plate, the edge of which rests on the flange, and a main body portion having a portion crimped around the edge of the vane plate and the flange of th shroud.

5. In an air cleaner which includes a main body portion having an air discharge'orifice at one end, a collar around the orifice, and a dust discharge orifice adjacent that end, a shroud having an air inlet orifice in its side closing the other end of the main body portion, and a vane plate between the shroud and the main body portion.

6. The combination with an air inlet conduit, of an air cleaner so mounted on the conduit that it may be rotated with respect thereto and having therein an air discharge opening communicating with the conduit, and an air intake opening in the cleaner in a side thereof which is substantially parallel to the axis of rotation and which is continuously unbroken for substantially one-half of Y the circumference thereof.

7. The combination with an air inlet conduit, of an air cleaner including a body portionv so mounted on the conduit that it may be rotated with respect thereto and havingtherein an air discharge opening communicating with the conduit, an opening in the body portion of the cleaner in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation thereof, and a shroud around said opening and having an air intake opening in a. wall thereof which is substantially parallel to the axis of rotation.

8. The invention claimed in claim 7, and means between the last two mentioned openings to cause the air within the body portion of the cleaner'to'travel in a helical path.

9. The combination with an air inlet conduit, of an air cleaner having therein an air discharge opening, a collar, through which the cleaner is so mounted on said conduit that it may be rotated with respect thereto, surrounding said opening, and an air intake opening in a side of the cleaner which is parallel to the axis of rotation thereof and which is continuously unbroken for substantially one-half of the circumference thereof.

10. In an air cleaner, a body portion having a circumferential flange, a shroud hav- 5 ing a circumferential flange, a vane plate I V1? having its edges seated on the flanges of the shroud and body portion and secured therebetween by crimping one of the flanges over the other.

11. In an air cleaner, a body portion, and

a shroud rotatably mounted connected to the body portion and provided with an opening in its side which may be positioned, by rotation of the shroud, so that it is shielded from direct entry of any outside air current without changing the position of mounting of the air cleaner.

12. In an air cleaner, a body portion having in one end thereof an air discharge opening and in the opposite end thereof an air intake opening, a shroud over the intake opening and having an opening in a side wall thereof which is parallel to the axis of the body portion and which is continuously unv broken for substantially one-half of its circumference, and a vane plate between the shroud and the body portion.

13. In an air cleaner, a substantially cylindrical body portion, a cup-shaped shroud rotatably connected to the body portion, and an air intake opening in a side wall of the shroud which is continuously unbroken for substantially one-half the circumference thereof.

14. In an air cleaner, a substantially cup shaped body portion, a substantially cupshaped shroud secured to the body portion by crimping, and means to cause the air within the body portion of the cleaner to travel in a helical path secured between the shroud and 40 the body portion.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ALBERT CHAMPION. 

